Notes and observations as I struggle to learn how to play chess from scratch.
What Iām trying to keep in mind while playing:
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Stick to symmetrical e-pawn openings until I learn to navigate opening principles.
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Donāt panic when opponents break opening principles, just stick to them myself as much as possible.
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Keep my pieces defended and look for my opponentās undefended pieces.
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Check carefully what becomes undefended when I plan to move a piece.
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Consider letting my opponent initiate trades early on so I develop a piece into the centre when re-capturing.
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Donāt move my pieces into the opponents half of the board until they can be well supported there.
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Develop my knights quickly.
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Castle early to get my king out of the centre.
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Get the back rank clear to connect my rooks.
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Get bishops onto long diagonals where they control more squares.
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Move rooks onto open files, especially if they x-ray the opponentās king.
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Spend plenty of time calculating trades, and watch for defenders that are behind others.
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Prefer keeping bishops over knights if all else is equal.
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Watch for pins on my pieces that prevent re-capturing when trading.
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Be more open to trading evenly when I have a material advantage.
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Scan for forks, for and against, especially when a knight is in my half.
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Be patient when I have a material advantage in the endgame.
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Be mindful of losing pieces by being forced to move out of check in the endgame.